James Richardson, Ph.D., J.D.

Contact Information

Degrees

J.D., Nevada School of Law, 1986

Ph.D., Sociology, Washington State University, 1968

M.A., Texas Tech University, 1966

B.A., Texas Tech University, 1965

Biography

Dr. James T. Richardson is a professor emeritus of sociology and judicial studies. He received his Ph.D. from Washington State University in 1968 and his J.D. from the Old College, Nevada School of Law in 1986. He has been teaching at the University of Nevada, Reno since 1968. He directs the master's and doctoral judicial studies program for trial judges as well as the justice management master's program for others who work in the justice system.

Dr. Richardson is the co-author and editor of 10 books, including Organized Miracles, Money and Power in the New Religions, The Satanism Scare, and Regulating Religion: Cases Studies from around the Globe, and Saints under Siege: The Texas Raid on the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints. He has also published numerous articles in the American Journal of Sociology, Sociology of Religion, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, and other scholarly journals, including law reviews.

His areas of specialization include the sociology of law, the sociology of religion, social psychology of law, social movements, social and behavioral science evidence. He is currently engaged in comparative research on law and religion, including use of courts to exert social control over minority religions, treatment of Muslims in court, evidentiary issues in courts, jury studies and new minority faiths around the world.

Books:

Fokas, Effie and James T. Richardson (2018). The European Court of Human Rights and Minority Religions. Routledge. (This was a special issued of Religion, State, and Society, with some additional chapters included.)

Book Chapters:

Richardson, James T. (2018). "The role of Jehovah's Witnesses case law in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights." Forthcoming in Effie Fokas (ed.), Freedom of and Freedom from Belief at the European Court of Human Rights.

Richardson, James T. (2017). "The law, the courts, religious freedom, and the evolving pattern of jurisprudence in Western societies. In E. Gallagher (ed.), ‘Cult Wars in Historical Perspective: New and Minority Religions. London: Routledge, 69-80.

Richardson, James T. (2016), "Law and social control of religion." In David Yamane (ed.), Handbook on Religion and Society. New York: Springer, 485-502.

Richardson, James T. (2016). Legal dimensions of new religions. In James Lewis (ed.), Oxford Handbook of New Religions. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 152-173.

Aires, Wolf and J.T. Richardson (2015). Trial and Error: Muslims and Shari'a in the German Context. In Adam Possamai, J.T. Richardson, and Bryan Turner (eds.), The Sociology of Shari'a: Case Studies from Around the World, 139-154. New York: Springer.

Turner, Bryan and J.T. Richardson (2015). The future of legal pluralism. In Adam Possamai, J.T. Richardson, and Bryan Turner (eds.), The Sociology of Shari'a: Case Studies from Around the World, 305-314. New York: Springer.

Richardson, J. T. (2015). Contradictions, conflicts, dilemmas, and temporary resolutions: A sociology of law analysis of Shari'a in selected western societies. In Adam Possamai, J.T. Richardson, and Bryan Turner (Eds.), The Sociology of Shari'a: Case Studies from Around the World, 237-252. New York: Springer.

Richardson, J.T. and J. Shoemaker. (2014). "The resurrection of religion in America? The ‘tea' cases, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the war on drugs." In J.T. Richardson and Francois Bellanger (Eds.), Legal Cases involving New Religious Movements, and Minority Faiths, 71-88. London: Ashgate.